Choosing software independently at a 600-person services firm
Example scenario. The company is illustrative and the figures are built from typical list prices, not a client result.
A reseller recommends the tool they are paid to sell, licensed for every employee. An independent selection finds a tool that fits the same requirements, licensed only for the people who need it, and saves about $150,000 a year.
The company
A 600-person professional services firm replacing its project and time tracking tool.
Path A, through a reseller
The reseller recommends its partner product at $45 a user a month for all 600 staff: $324,000 a year. The reseller earns a commission on that contract, which nobody mentions.
Path B, independent selection
- Write down what the firm actually needs, with the people who will use it.
- Score three vendors against those needs with a demo scorecard.
- Count who really needs a license: 450 people, not 600.
- The best-fit tool costs $32 a user a month: 450 x $32 x 12 = $172,800 a year.
The difference
$324,000 minus $172,800 = $151,200 a year, and the firm picked the tool on fit, not on who paid whom.
Questions to ask any adviser
- Do you earn anything from the vendor you recommend?
- How many options did you score, and against what?
- How many licenses do we actually need?
Keep reading
Other guide: what an operations audit finds at a 200-person distributor
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